A Habit of Escaping
by lionor
Summary: Dean and Benny are fighting though purgatory, each learning more about the other than was originally anticipated. Co-authored with Smill34. Originally drafted as an RP by the Authors attempting to cope with Benny's death. Also on AO3.


Benny stabbed the last of a posse of vampires with a final trill of a whistle. "Well, brother, that's about it for that one. What do we do now?" he said with a smile. "Go back to looking for your angel I don't doubt."

Dean rolled his eyes. Benny was a good man in a fight, but a little less than personable when it came to anything else. "Yes. You know that's non-negotiable. Let's get moving." Dean pulled the blade he'd buried into a vampire skull and finished the bastard off with one clean swipe. Everything was so much cleaner now. Hack and move on. That was the deal down below.

Even after he was freshly turned, Benny hadn't enjoyed the visceral carnage that his monstrosity entailed, but in purgatory killing was about the only useful skill to have. And even though the only snippet of personal information he knew about Dean was that he was human and here by accident, he reveled in the fellowship that only shared combat could bring. "Non-negotiable. I wouldn't dare argue, my friend."

"I'm sure you wouldn't." Dean didn't know what to think about Benny. He knew his motives weren't the purest, but you didn't go to the lengths Benny had to protect someone and not end up with something with them. Dean knew that from experience. "What are you, man?"

"Oh, Dean-o, you hadn't already noticed my extra set of teeth? I'm a vampire in the loosest sense of the term. But that's not important. Remember our little agreement, buddy. We're getting out of this place." Benny wanted out, and this pretty boy was definitely the only ride in town. But he was curious about the human's single-minded quest for an angel. "Yeah, yeah, your angel. What is the thing there? He's going to light us up like a beacon, my friend."

"You know what I meant." He sheathed the weapon Benny had given him. It was a good weapon, one the likes of which you couldn't get topside. "And he's family. You got family, right? And I don't really care. If it weren't for him my ass would be extra crispy in hell right now. I'd be dead." Dean didn't look Benny in the eyes. You didn't unload on a stranger like that. What was he thinking?

Benny gazed at this tragic creature which continued to call itself a man. "Yeah, I had family. So whatever time you need, you take. We'll find your family, bud. What else is all this free time for?" The vampire laughed off the sudden mood and wiped off his blade. "Let's get moving, if we're gonna find him. I'd rather not dawdle around here all century, you know?" Benny whistled another, more cheerful tune. Any doubts he'd had about this Dean Winchester were dispelling, because if you could still believe in family in purgatory, you could do anything.

"Let's cut the chick flick moments, Benny. We've got shit to do." Dean wanted to get going as fast as he could. There was no time. He knew as much as Benny that Castiel was in more danger than he, and Cas was doing it alone. "But really with the damn whistling?"

Benny raised his eyebrows and whistled all the louder. "Really with the whistling, Dean-o." But he stopped shortly after, the oppressive atmosphere too much for the tune. He started off into the woods, until he spotted yet another group of marauding baddies. And they were headed for Dean. Benny gave up trying to pretend that he would ever leave this precious human resource, and pulled out his wicked weapon. The gang never knew what hit them, and Benny let another whistle escape. Once again, he felt the sort of vicious flying freedom found exclusively in the sound of a blade connecting with his foe.

Dean blinked and there he was. He took a second to admire the killing machine that the curse of vampirism and time in purgatory had created. He moved fast and hard, and Dean felt a little bit sorry for the poor bastards falling under the blade. A bit. He finished off the last of whatever the hell the things were. "This is getting old. Are you even sure this is going to work?"

Benny nodded. "This is a guaranteed deal, my friend. And I think we can get your little fallen angel out too. So you still game? We should be movin' on," and with that Benny set off decisively into the trees. Luckily this time no one attacked and Dean actually followed.

Dean had lost track of how long they'd been walking. The trees in purgatory all looked the same: the rocks were identical, even the air was still and unbelievably quiet. Benny was whistling and had been for a few hours at least. "So, uh. About the family you said. Wife, little biter babies, shifter dogs maybe?" Dean regretted the question as soon as he spoke, but anything to get him to stop whistling.

Benny looked down and chuckled, not entirely comfortably. "Nah, none of that kid stuff for me, Dean-o. I'm not quite the cuddly papa type, you see." He scuffed his feet across the ground as he walked, suddenly introspective. He tried not to entertain the all-too-vivid memories of his love and his eventual demise. Though in retrospect, dying was probably the best possible career move. He could kill without guilt, down here. "And you? Got a damsel up there waiting?"

Dean laughed. "I settled for a while, but you can't balance hunting and a normal life. I've seen people try. It doesn't ever end well. I did have a daughter." The memory of his daughter's face haunted him whenever his mind was still, late at night and sometimes when he was killing. It was sick and unhealthy, but he hadn't always been the epitome of health.

"A daughter, really? I didn't honestly expect the idea of settling down with you. So how long you've been hunting?" Benny knew that was about as personal as asking how you got turned, and expected the question from the hunter soon. But honestly, he didn't mind the real conversations with Dean. It was so much more civilized than the average purgatory chat (which normally consisted of a snarky greeting and a quick stab), and frankly refreshing. He laughed softly. "I never quite understood how one gets involved in the hunting business. It's a pretty well-kept secret until the baddies come for you."

Dean wasn't going to get into it with a half stranger who may or may not have ulterior motives, but what else did he really have to do. He'd probably kill or be killed by Benny before all was said and done. "Yeah. I had a daughter, but she uh…didn't make it. I've been a hunter since I was a kid. And you? How long have you been you know?" tap-dancing around the fact that Benny was a vampire didn't appeal to him, but it made the fact a lot easier to swallow.

Benny nodded knowingly. "A lot of people don't make it in this life. But I'm sorry for, uh, your proximity to it." He grimaced and swallowed hard. "I, uh…I've spent a good fifty years down here, and I got my teeth a few years before that. Of course…" he chuckled nervously, "the whole vampire thing didn't really prolong my lifespan." He walked in silence for a space. "So a dead daughter is all you left behind? There's a lot of gaps in your tale, Dean Winchester. You know, even that name of yours, I've heard whispers."

"Listen man. I just want to get out of here. I'm not looking to share my life story." Dean felt guilt rise up quickly. Why in the hell was the damn fang giving him any feelings at all? "But I'm a Winchester. My Dad was a hunter, and my brother, Sam. We've sort of carved a name for ourselves. After my mom…" No. There was the line. One he would not cross.

There it was, the line. Feelings hour had gone on long enough and Benny knew that look in Dean's eyes, the look that said enough was enough. "Yeah, well, life stories have a habit of escaping," he muttered under his breath. Of course, another onslaught was coming. "I don't know about you, Dean-o, but I'm itching for a fight."

It felt different this time. They came strategically. One on Benny and the other on him and so on while at least 5 or six others stood back, watching. "Benny! Do you see this?" he yelled as he ganked another monster. It was easier than it should have been.

Easier until he showed up. He was huge, bigger than anything Dean had ever seen and meaner looking too. Dean had never seen that many scars on a single body. The dude was trouble, and they seemed smack dab in the middle of it. "Dean Winchester." The voice echoed in the vastness of purgatory, and sent a chill up Dean's spine. No small feat.

"That I am. Perhaps you've heard of me. Probably ganked your brother or something."

The man-thing chuckled. "I've heard of this Winchester charm, but I've got a proposition for you."

Benny slashed his way through a few of the underlings in time to see the hulking creature talking to Dean. "Whatever he's selling, Dean-o, don't you buy it!" he called out. Because this creature was not your average purgatory scum. No, it was one of the higher-order, seriously bad-news monsters. Benny hadn't encountered many truly dangerous creatures, as in the grand scheme of things he was still a relative newby to the purgatory lifecycle. But the vampire was sharp and knew when to watch himself, and this was one of those times that he had to tread very, very carefully to extricate himself, and hopefully his ride Dean, out of the sticky situation.

"Do you really think a pathetic newborn like him can get you across purgatory? Listen, Dean-o. May I call you Dean-o?"

Dean gripped the handle of the scythe tighter. "What do you think?" He was up to his neck in fangs and a huge ass monster calling him something he barely tolerated from Benny was not a welcome change.

"Touchy. Well I'm gonna offer you a guaranteed ride home and a lead on your angel pal, and between you and me he wasn't looking too hot the last time one of my boys laid eyes on him. Twisted, broken little thing he is." Cas. They knew exactly where to hit him hardest, and there was the last shred of doubt he had about the thing that stood towering over him. The son of a bitch was evil, and he would cast his lot with Benny, for better or worse.

Benny found himself being tugged at from all sides by the evil thing's little minions. In no time flat they had a blade to his neck. "Dean," he called out again, no _o_ to lessen the impact, the seriousness, "you can't listen to this bastard. I don't care how much you trust me as long as you trust him less…" The minions pulled hard at his arms and choked at his neck, a trickle of blood leading down his throat. This was getting increasingly hopeless rather quickly.

"Touch him and I'll slit my own goddamn throat and you can kiss your ride out of this hole goodbye." Dean's shout temporarily stopped the minions poised at Benny's throat, but it wouldn't last.

The thing chuckled, "I happen to know that you Mr. Winchester have a brother that you're rather fond of. I'm sure you wouldn't leave him alone topside for the sake of this rat." The thing waved his minions on and before Dean knew it he held the scythe at his neck. It hadn't been a thought out choice, and it wasn't a choice that he was overly enthusiastic about, but Benny suddenly seemed much cuddlier after this son of a bitch.

Benny glared at Dean from across the clearing, a steady stream of curses floating to the top of his mind. Dean was clearly too close to the real world, and his judgment was getting cloudy. The vampire's captors spared a few moments to laugh at the human's predicament, and Benny took his chance, letting his fangs snake out and snatching his blade away from the minion before it slit his throat. He then spun around and stabbed the one that had been holding him, hoping that Dean managed to break free as well.

Dean spun, decapitating two minions in one swing. Benny hadn't given him a lot of warning, but he probably had a lot to explain to the vamp. "Benny!" he shouted seconds before a vampire seized Benny's coat. Benny twirled expertly and plunged his weapon deep into the monster's gut. 10 to 15 more appeared in its stead. Dean made his way to Benny, hashing and slashing what were once men and women left and right. "Now might be the time to make our great escape."

"I agree with you completely, bud," Benny shouted above the death throes of various purgatory inhabitants. Both Dean and Benny had mostly escaped the clutches of their repressors, and they made their way rapidly into the denser trees. "Well, that was a damned mess if ever I saw one," said Benny when they were further away. "What'd that son of a bitch have to say to you? It didn't look like he was inviting you to his birthday party."

"They were trying to get me to turn on you. Divide the ranks. The usual monster tactics." Dean wiped the black blood from his face, faking nonchalance. He couldn't deny that the thought of betrayal hadn't crossed his mind, and Benny knew that. Their only choice was to move on and find Cas.


End file.
